I have had a full on couple of weeks. I have also had a fair bit of time away from the games that normally keep me on the level and so i am sitting back and looking at how my past couple of weeks have gone and I realise that gaming keeps me sane. I am thankful that I have had this hobby over the past couple of weeks more than I have in the past ten years I think because it keeps me on the level.
At the start of these past couple of weeks I have had to put my full time job (teaching) on hold and support myself to do a practical placement so that I can become qualified for my full time job. Confused? Me too. This is my fifth year teaching and the administrators that run the education system here have decided they will no longer hire me as I have not done a one year course. I have been a trainer and the like for many years but I apparently do not know how to teach. So, part of the course that I am doing that will qualify me for this job requires me to teach kids in grades lower than my job is. to do this I need to take leave without pay and support myself for three weeks doing the thing that I do every day so I can qualify to do the thing that I do every day.
Most teachers at the school I have come to believe that this is ridiculous. But such is the nature of the world today where qualifications are needed for everything even many that are qualified are not suitable and many that are suitable are more than capable. It is about pieces of paper in the long run.
So, I have been majorly stressed about my personal finances as this is going to have ramifications for likely the three weeks I am off and the following four to six weeks after.
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| It has been a stressful couple of weeks but gaming (and all of you) keep me sane! |
Then the worst happened. Practically my best mate in the world had a stroke Tuesday of last week. He is the luckiest guy in the world too because he decided to have his stroke while visiting his doctor and thus had immediate medical treatment. They were not sure what the turn was for a few days until in hospital they found the little clot and it had moved to his brain. It has been a tense week of extreme worry as he got flown to a hospital a long way away and I could not visit him. It also meant that we had to step up and do his work for him (he works at a family owned service station) so the place could stay open and he and his mother could sort out what is needed to be sorted. This has meant LONG working days for myself as I go to the service station after school and do shifts every day.
Now I have painted you the picture as to why it has been stressful (by the way, my mate is now in recovery and looks to have very few side effects from the stroke long term) in the past couple of weeks let me tell you why I love my gaming, and largely this blog.
Community.
I have met very few of you in person but we are a community. I love splurging my ideas out on to this page on a daily (sometimes once every couple of days) basis and having you tell me your experience of what I am writing about. I have had many people tell me that the audience I attract to the blog are very involved and that I am able to get a lot of comments (valuable comments all!) from my most evocative pieces. Of course some times I write a load of rubbish too and it is great to have you all tell me that when I do.
I enjoy my gaming and have had too little of it in the past fortnight. The stroke of my friend has postponed my in person game and as I am in Uni mode at the moment my online game is fortnightly (we played Monday). But I have been working with every spare minute that I can find to finish my module and I have also had discussions with other people about future projects that I may become involved in on a more professional basis.
This hobby is my release. It enables me to be creative and I have always been a very creative person. If I am not thinking about what my game is going to cover next time then I am thinking about what tools can I use. I also keep reading systems to see what works well and how it reflects the themes of the game. I love ingenuity and I can not get enough of the inventiveness of games at this time. Without this creative outlet I would be stuck in a rut. I would be deep in depression and lifeless.
So that is why I am, on this the 401st post of The Pathfinder Chronicles just to say thank you. You all read, listen and comment which keeps me writing and keeps me thinking. I very much appreciate the community that has been built up around my blog and in the communities I frequent on Google Plus. You all remind me on a daily basis that our hobby is alive, thriving and exciting.
Feel free to ask for blogs too. If you want something explored from my perspective then just hit me up in the comments and I will be glad to consider it. I am not too far from delivering another video tutorial on a portion of Roll 20 which came as a suggestion from one of my readers. I love doing requests so hit me up! Until next time, realise your readership is valued and keep rolling.